This Artist Shows Our Messy Side

We all have a part of ourselves that we try to keep hidden from the world. We believe it’s too ugly, too complicated, too messy for everyone to see, so instead, we show the polished side.

That version of ourselves that smooths over all of our hardships; that version that is more comfortable for other people to interact with. But artist Cayce Zavaglia is embracing and expressing both of these sides in her portraits by using a material familiar to us all: yarn.

In the amazing series, Making Art, Jesse Brass highlights artists and the motivations behind their work. Every film is full of nuggets of inspiration and leaves you with a new appreciation for the artists and their creations.

The Making Art feature on Cayce Zavaglia’s process, Verso, looks closely at how she decides whose portrait she creates and why exactly yarn is her chosen medium. (You can see more fascinating work like this on Jesse Brass’s Vimeo channel.)

Interesting, right?

It makes me wonder; if each of us is actually made up of these bits and pieces that don’t uniformly flow together, what would happen if we revealed these “messy” sides of ourselves to people who we assume don’t automatically align with our lifestyles?

Or, what if, instead of trying our best to appear as if we have it all together, we showed a little more vulnerability? Could an action so simple (okay, it’s a little scary) have the ability to change the trajectory of our lives?

In one of the latest episodes of Hidden Brain, (and EWC team favorite when it comes to remarkable podcasts) they explore how bottling our feelings up in order to appear a certain way effects how we’re able to make and maintain friendships. Could this all boil down to the inability to see that our “messy” sides can be beautiful? If you have the time today, give this podcast a listen and see what you think.

Jesse Brass also created a video for another talented artist, Melanie Norris, who showcases the beautiful “flaws” in our human characters through her paintings.

There’s beauty in all of us, but sadly, it’s often overlooked. Today we’re appreciating an artist who creates gorgeous portraits by focusing on who her subjects actually are, instead of what they reveal on just the surface! Join us!

So, as you go about your day, just keep this in mind: it doesn’t necessarily matter how well put together a person appears, there’s almost always a guarantee that there’s something tangled tucked away behind the surface–and that’s an opportunity to connect.

Stay open to new possibilities!

Sam

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After accidently slipping his paint brush into his glass of while painting one day, the artist Alfonso Aguirre discovered a way to bring the blood of the land into his artwork. Here’s the story of this remarkably happy accident…